Police investigate large eBay/PayPal scam based in Gadsden

Published: Thursday, August 28, 2014 at 10:32 p.m.

Last Modified: Thursday, August 28, 2014 at 10:35 p.m.

Gadsden detectives continue to investigate a large eBay/PayPal scam that involved online sellers from several countries, but radiated out of a Webster Street residence in Gadsden.

Sgt. Cole Lumpkin said police received a tip from Federal Express about an unusually large number of packages being delivered to the residence. About the same time, they received the first in a torrent of calls from people who had sold items online and delivered them, believing they’d been paid through PayPal, only to find out later that the PayPal page they were viewing was a fake.

“They said they all heard the same story,” Lumpkin said, of how the buyer had to have the item sent overnight because it was for his daughter’s birthday present. The items had to be sent quickly so they would clear the Fed Ex, UPS or U.S. Post Office distribution center before the seller figured out the payment site page was fake.

“If it didn’t happen quickly, (the seller) could call and tell Fed Ex to hold the package,” Lumpkin said.

People selling items on the Internet should never ship a package before they receive payment, he said.

The hub for this scam, Lumpkin said, was the Gadsden residence. Sellers from as far away as United Arab Emirates, Israel, Great Britain and Ukraine shipped packages there.

In July, detectives followed the reports they received to the residence. The owner told them her roommate was receiving all the packages.

The woman said a man she met on Facebook about three years earlier and had communicated with through emails and phone calls had asked her to receive packages for a friend of his, relabel them and ship them to a New Jersey address to “Ship Africa,” a holding company for things that ultimately were bound for Nigeria.

At the residence, detectives found packages containing several electronic items with no proof of who shipped them or where they were shipped from. There were cellphones, cameras, tablets and laptops, among other items.

Detectives also found that a number of packages were awaiting delivery to the address.

Those packages were held and seized, as were packages at the residence.

Lumpkin said about $70,000 worth of electronics had been seized.

He said detectives should be able to find the owners and return about three-quarters of the property.

“There’s a guy from the United Arab Emirates who calls me every day asking when he can get his Samsung phone back,” Lumpkin said. The investigation continues, he said, and it may be some time yet before property can be returned.

<p>Gadsden detectives continue to investigate a large eBay/PayPal scam that involved online sellers from several countries, but radiated out of a Webster Street residence in Gadsden.</p><p>Sgt. Cole Lumpkin said police received a tip from Federal Express about an unusually large number of packages being delivered to the residence. About the same time, they received the first in a torrent of calls from people who had sold items online and delivered them, believing they'd been paid through PayPal, only to find out later that the PayPal page they were viewing was a fake.</p><p>“They said they all heard the same story,” Lumpkin said, of how the buyer had to have the item sent overnight because it was for his daughter's birthday present. The items had to be sent quickly so they would clear the Fed Ex, UPS or U.S. Post Office distribution center before the seller figured out the payment site page was fake.</p><p>“If it didn't happen quickly, (the seller) could call and tell Fed Ex to hold the package,” Lumpkin said.</p><p>People selling items on the Internet should never ship a package before they receive payment, he said.</p><p>The hub for this scam, Lumpkin said, was the Gadsden residence. Sellers from as far away as United Arab Emirates, Israel, Great Britain and Ukraine shipped packages there.</p><p>In July, detectives followed the reports they received to the residence. The owner told them her roommate was receiving all the packages.</p><p>The woman said a man she met on Facebook about three years earlier and had communicated with through emails and phone calls had asked her to receive packages for a friend of his, relabel them and ship them to a New Jersey address to “Ship Africa,” a holding company for things that ultimately were bound for Nigeria.</p><p>At the residence, detectives found packages containing several electronic items with no proof of who shipped them or where they were shipped from. There were cellphones, cameras, tablets and laptops, among other items. </p><p>Detectives also found that a number of packages were awaiting delivery to the address. </p><p>Those packages were held and seized, as were packages at the residence.</p><p>Lumpkin said about $70,000 worth of electronics had been seized.</p><p>He said detectives should be able to find the owners and return about three-quarters of the property.</p><p>“There's a guy from the United Arab Emirates who calls me every day asking when he can get his Samsung phone back,” Lumpkin said. The investigation continues, he said, and it may be some time yet before property can be returned.</p>